Narrow Minded
by ZanureyZ
Summary: "Not only was she at the wedding, but the Listener sent the petty bride to the Dread Father!"   Cicero finally crosses the line, ruining Zorah's reputation in Whiterun by revealing the murder of Vittoria Vici.  One-shot


_Swish…_

_Swish…_

_Swish_…

The jester and ghost were watching as their leader "killed" several dummies. Each shot was as precise as the last, each hitting the targets directly or at least in areas that would kill a person instantly.

"Listener… how very good you are at… archery." Cicero commented, gulping to keep from accidentally saying something that would set her off.

Of course, Lucien knew better than to bother Zorah when in one of her moods, which she usually got rid of with archery.

Zorah responded by shooting an arrow just above Cicero's head, causing his hat to be impaled on said arrow and into the wall behind him.

"Cicero was just commenting…" he mumbled to himself, stalking off to retrieve his hat, which would now need mending.

"Kind of like how you "commented" that I was the one who murdered Vittoria Vici?" she asked, voice as cold as the snow that fell just outside.

"That was purely a mistake. Besides! Cicero thinks people should praise you for your amazing deeds!" he said, smiling wide and clapping his hands together.

Lucien simply watched in silence, wanting desperately to escape to the Void.

"That was no mistake, Cicero, and you know it!" she yelled, shoving him with her bow.

Roughly five hours before, Zorah and Cicero had been wandering in Whiterun after obtaining a dagger made of Skyforge Steel, which Cicero had been practically begging her for ever since they first stepped foot in the city.

Soon after, a guard who had recognized her walked up, smiling.

"Don't say anything." She whispered to Cicero.

"Hello, Zorah, good to see you're back. We haven't seen you in awhile." He said with his heavy Nordic accent.

"Hello, Masten, it's good to be back. I've been quite busy lately, what with the dragons and Greybeards sending me all over Skyrim." She smiled sadly, masking what she had _really_ been doing.

"I'd heard you were at the wedding of the emperor's cousin, in Solitude? By the gods, that must have been horrible," he said, shaking his head in mourning.

"Yes, it-"

"Oh, the Listener didn't just go to the wedding," Cicero exclaimed, bouncing around, "but she's the one who sent the petty bride to the Dread Father!" he smiled.

Zorah stared in shock at Cicero, mouth agape as Masten shared the same expression, directed at her instead.

"Um… I…" she said, not quite sure what to say.

Masten unsheathed his sword, pointing it at her face, yelling "Is what this fool says true? Did you murder Vittoria Vici?" he asked.

In response, she sprinted past him, summoning her Spectral Assassin to distract the guards.

Once outside the city gates, she jumped on top of Shadowmere, angering her as she was enjoying a tasty rabbit.

Ignoring her horse, she allowed Cicero to get on behind her and Shadowmere took off, leaving a swarm of angry guards and an irritated ghost behind them.

They rode three hours non-stop, until they finally reached their sanctuary in Dawnstar. Once inside, Zorah promptly shoved Cicero against a wall, holding a dagger at his throat.

Somehow Lucien caught up, and watched as she tortured the fool with words – or Shouts.

"KRII!" she Shouted, using her prized Thu`um to make Cicero suffer, but not enough to kill him.

"Cicero is sorry, Listener! Didn't… mean… any harm!" he forced out, as he fought against the painful state he was currently in.

Babette, Nazir and another recruit ran from the floor below to see what all the fuss was about. Four assassins watched with slight horror as their Listener stood over the Keeper, icy glare pointed at him as he went through much earned pain.

"Did I not specifically tell you not to say anything? Do you not understand how hard I've worked to keep a good reputation in that hold? Of course not, you ignorant fool." She spat, quickly slashing his cheek.

"Listener, he's had enough." The Night Mother whispered in her ear, as the episode was folding out in front of her coffin.

Zorah looked to her, debating whether or not to acknowledge her or keep slicing the jester.

She sighed and sheathed her dagger, bowing to the Matron.

"Very well." She said through her teeth.

"Whatever did he do?" the lady asked, curiosity peeking her interest.

"He let everyone know about who was responsible for the death of Vittoria." Zorah said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Cicero!" Babette yelled at him.

The Night Mother chuckled softly. "Poor Cicero. No common sense, and just about as eccentric as the daedric prince of Madness." She said.

"Indeed…" Zorah replied, thinking about her encounter with the madman.

"Walk always." The Night Mother said, dismissing her.

Zorah nodded and turned her attention back to the assassins. Cicero was now leaning against the metal bars, holding his bleeding cheek with his left hand and gripping a bar with the other.

"Listener…?" he said.

She ignored him and walked to the training rooms and pulled out her bow to work off the anger, which was where they were now.

Cicero successfully recovered his hat, and sat in a corner, sulking.

Babette walked in then, blood dripping down her chin.

"It sure is a good thing we have that torture room," she said. "Now I don't have to go hunting for my nighttime meals."

"Oh yes, I was wondering where that screaming was coming from." She said simply. They were all used to the little vampire's comments, which usually consisted of the words "blood", "victim", and "meal".

"Ho ho ho, he he he! Break that lute across my knee!" Cicero sang.

"I remember Skyrim from my youth and the glistening crimson…"

Zorah sighed, and returned to destroying the targets.

_And everything's back to normal… _she thought.

_Author's notes:_

The Shout she used was the first word of Marked for Death, found at the Falkreath Sanctuary.

Zorah is a French name that takes after the name "Zoey" and the word "Zora".

I know Astrid said that Shadowmere is a male, but I like her so much better in Oblivion, so I still think of it as 'her'.

And, I came up with this while I was lying in bed one night, being all bored and crap. Don't blame me for the line of events, blame my mind.


End file.
